EPA levies fine against Dover Chemical

Dover Chemical Corp. has agreed to pay $1.4 million in civil penalties to resolve what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contends was unauthorized production of chemical substances, officials said Tuesday.

Times Reporter

Writer

Posted Feb. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 7:23 AM

Posted Feb. 7, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Feb 7, 2012 at 7:23 AM

DOVER

Dover Chemical Corp. has agreed to pay $1.4 million in civil penalties to resolve what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contends was unauthorized production of chemical substances, officials said Tuesday.

The government and Dover Chemical entered a proposed settlement in U.S. District Court in Akron. The company has agreed to stop making short-chain chlorinated paraffins, according to the EPA. Those compounds can cause cancer and genetic and nervous system problems in humans, the EPA states.

The settlement involves the company’s plants at 3676 Davis Road in Dover and in Hammond, Ind.

Dover Chemical, which produces the majority of chlorinated products sold in the United States, also will submit premanufacture notices to the EPA for other chlorinated paraffin products, the EPA said.

On Tuesday, Dover Chemical issued a statement by President Dwain Colvin that the company has manufactured chlorinated paraffin products for more than 40 years, beginning before enactment of the Toxic Substances Control Act program. The TSCA requires companies to file premanufacturing notices with the EPA before the start of manufacturing certain new chemical products. Dover Chemical maintains it filed all appropriate paperwork in 1978, but that in the December 2009 notice of violation the EPA claimed that the description of CPs wasn’t “in sufficient detail.”

Dover Chemical also said that the settlement “resolves all of the USEPA’s allegations, without any finding of admission of liability ...”

Chlorinated paraffins are a family of chemical substances with different properties, depending on their carbon chain lengths, and generally are identified as short-, medium- or long-chain.

Chlorinated paraffins are used in products such as lubricants, plastics and paints. According to the EPA, short-chain chlorinated paraffins have been found to accumulate in wildlife and humans, are persistent and transported globally in the environment, and also can be toxic to aquatic animals at low concentrations.

Tuesday’s proposed settlement agreement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

“This settlement will require Dover (Chemical) to participate in an EPA review of all types of chlorinated paraffin products sold by the company and bring Dover into compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act,” Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, said in a statement. “By halting production of short-chain chlorinated paraffins, this settlement will reduce undue risks to human health and the environment.”

Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, pointed out that assuring the safety of chemicals is one of EPA’s top priorities.

The action “reinforces the need for chemical manufacturers to follow the law and protects Americans from chemicals that could be harmful to their health,” Giles said.

In Dover Chemical’s statement, Colvin said, “This settlement was in the best interests of the local community, our company, our employees and our customers. While litigation was an option we discussed, Dover’s culture of cooperation with all regulatory agencies and Dover’s commitment to responsible environmental stewardship were major factors driving our decision to resolve this dispute with USEPA amicably, without litigation. The settlement also allows Dover to focus its attention and resources on serving Dover’s customers and growing Dover’s business for the benefit of its many stakeholders.

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“We recognize and apologize for the stress the pendency of this dispute has imposed upon some of our customers, our community, our employees and our shareholders,” Colvin stated. “Dover made significant concessions to resolve this dispute in a manner that, in our opinion, treated all affected parties as fairly as possible under the circumstances.

“It is significant to note that the terms of the settlement do not require Dover to withdraw from the market any of its current CPs,” Colvin stated. “As a result, Dover will be able to continue to be the leader in the production and sale of CPs for many years to come.”